I married my husband almost nine years ago in New York. I now want to change my last name to his last name. Our marriage certificate does not indicate a name change for me.

Your marriage license has your maiden (current) name and your husband's name. According to Sandra Talbot, spokeswoman for the the Social Security Administration, the date the marriage occurred is not a factor.

"To change the name due to marriage, (you) will need the marriage document and identification in (your) old name that includes either?date of birth or age," Talbot says. Acceptable identification includes a driver's license, state-issued nondriver ID or U.S. passport.

So the advice you received is correct. Take these documents and use them to change other forms of identification. Obtaining a name change via court order does cost several hundred dollars.